Organizational Ethics in Managed Behavioral Health Care: Perspectives From Executives and Leaders

• Published in: Ethical human sciences and services Vol. 5; no. 2; pp. 109 - 125
• Main Authors: Sharar, David A., Huff, Stan, Ackerson, Barry
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Springer Publishing Company 01.01.2003
• Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Bioethics; Clinical and Counseling Psychology; Cognitive, Biological, and Neurological Psychology; Ethics, Institutional; Humans; Interviews as Topic; Managed Care Programs - ethics; Mental Health Services - economics; Mental Health Services - organization & administration; Organizations, Nonprofit; Private Sector; Psychology; Qualitative Research; Resource Allocation - ethics; Social and Personality Psychology; United States; United States; Empirical Approach; Mental Health Therapies; Health Care and Public Health
• ISSN: 1523-150X; 2376-9475
• DOI: 10.1891/1523-150X.5.2.109

Managed behavioral health care (MBHC) is frequently criticized on ethical grounds for the way it undermines classical ideals of professionalism in mental health and addiction treatment. There is an implied assumption that practitioners who are executives and leaders in MBHC companies have moved away from clinical ethics to the adoption of business and financial models. This qualitative study explores perceptions of organizational ethical issues from the point of view of leaders working in MBHC settings and how their perspectives contribute to our current schemas for analyzing the ethical complexities of MBHC. Twenty-seven participants from across the United States were interviewed using an interview guide that relied on open-ended questions and probes. Inquiry findings present four major themes and describe participant material in a way that enhances sensitivity and understanding to organizational ethics in MBHC and behavioral health services and research.